E-mail, Feeds, 'n' Stuff

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Men in white, men in black

A couple of stories we've written about here are on the front page again this morning. First, Kaiser and OHSU have now told reporters they'll "voluntarily" report malpractice claims against them and their doctors to the State of Oregon, despite their earlier assertion that the requirements for such reporting do not apply to them.

The O rightly pats itself on the back for bringing about this change of practice, but it shouldn't stop there. The state's other main doc shop, Legacy, is clearly exempt from the disclosure rules under current law, and they're not saying yet whether they'll report. And the other two are not admitting that they are fully subject to the current reporting rules.

Our solution was outlined here earlier. The reporting rules should apply to all doctors practicing medicine in the state -- and indeed, to all licensed professionals. And the information reported belongs on the internet. The current law and "voluntary" disclosure are not enough to serve the public's strong interest in having this information.

Elsewhere, the Archdiocese of Portland has offered $40 million to the victims of past priestly sexual abuse -- many of whom were children when the abuse occurred. The victims oppose letting the archbishop off the hook for that amount; they claims they've been damaged to the tune of a much larger sum.

We'll see how the bankruptcy judge rules, but I suspect that there are at least a few plaintiffs in the group who will never accept anything but a full, public trial. They want the world to see what the priests, and their complicit supervisors, did to them. To the abuse victims, unlike the church elders, it's not all about the money.

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 155
At this date last year: 241
Total run in 2015: 271
In 2014: 401
In 2013: 257
In 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269